Fish in a Tree: Chapter 48 Summary & Analysis

The next morning, Oliver asks Ally what it's like to have dyslexia. He wants to know if she sees things backwards. Ally says that letters flutter, and Oliver's eyes widen with awe. He says that his letters just stand there and are boring, so he hates reading. Ally smiles, thinking that she's never realized how funny he is since she's been so caught up in herself. She looks around the room and remembers thinking that her reading differences were like dragging around a concrete block. Now, she realizes that everyone has a block to drag. The blocks are all different, and they're all heavy. Ally thinks of how Mr. Daniels used "grit" to describe the people with dyslexia. He said that grit is being willing to fail, and Ally thinks that she'll be bothered less by messing up now.

Later, on the playground, Shay comes over and asks if Ally sees letter backwards. Ally now feels proud of her dyslexia, but it bugs her when Shay says that her brother in kindergarten sees letters the right way. Albert says that seeing letters backwards is a sign of intelligence. He says that he sees some backwards and he's smart, so Ally must be even smarter. Shay bites and asks what letters Albert sees backwards. He says he sees O, T, A V, U, and others backwards.

Shay stomps off, but her followers only follow her halfheartedly. Jessica even jogs back and tells Ally that dyslexia is cool, that Ally is a good artist, and that she's sorry for everything. Keisha turns to Albert and asks him what's up with Jessica being nice. Then, Keisha starts laughing about how Shay went for Albert's trick—the letters he listed are the same forward and backward. Ally laughs and thanks Albert.

Ally finds a wooden A on her desk. Suki explains that she carved it for Ally from one of her blocks because Ally is amazing and she admires her. Ally hears Shay sounding unhappy across the room. She looks and sees a pile of friendship bracelets on Shay's desk.